Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Hen – 04

I knew something fishy was going on and boy am I excited for when everything blows up.

General Impressions

So, before I go into full conspiracy theory mode, let’s dive into some actual things from the episode since there was a lot of good things going on here. Starting with the biggest moment, can we talk about those walking trees? Honestly, I’m still a little dumbstruck how Sakura managed to corral all those trees back into place without anyone noticing. Impressive feats of stealth aside, I must say that these new Clear Cards have been a blast to watch. With a fun or exciting battle ensuing prior to their capture, I forgot just how much I used to love shows like this where there was a tried and true formula that you could look forward to each week. Now you might be wondering, “Takaii, didn’t you complain about the pacing of the show last week?” Yes, I did have a small complaint with the pacing since it felt like things were going absolutely nowhere – which is why this week’s episode felt like a breath of fresh air.

Besides the newest card going absolutely insane and causing such an insane amount of chaos that I still can’t believe no one saw it, I think that the end of the episode was truly where things went crazy. Because if I’m being honest, I’ve been very curious why Syaoran hasn’t taken a bigger part in everything that’s going on right now. Seeing how he’s usually the man with the plan (or at least something resembling a plan), it’s been a little strange to see him take a backseat role. That said, I think it’s pretty clear that something else is going on here and if that somewhat ominous talk at the end means anything, something is being kept a secret from Sakura. That said, you have to wonder why Syaoran and others are keeping secrets from a clearly lost Sakura. At this point in the timeline, you’d think that she’d be able to handle whatever that’s being kept from her.

But as if that wasn’t enough, the introduction of Shinomoto Akiho felt so suspicious that I couldn’t help but think that she was going to go and try to off Sakura when we least expected it. Thinking back to last week’s episode, it’s not too hard to assume that she might be that masked figure who’s been attacking Sakura in her dreams. Not only are the two roughly the same height, but her sudden introduction tied in with everything else that’s going on just feels fishy.

Anyways, it looks like we’ll have to wait until next week for some more information to fill all these holes. Hopefully things will keep moving at a steady rate and if this week’s episode was any indication of what’s to come, I can’t wait to see what’s waiting for us when we get to the end of the tunnel.

Gah at this point am thinking Eriol is such a jerkass with him not even replying to Sakura’s email. If the cards were mischievous like the original Clow Cards, I wouldn’t mind as much him doing his mysterious bit, but the newer cards are more vicious and are actively trying to harm her :p

So now we learn that Syaoran’s return is most likely related to what’s going on as well as Akiho’s sudden appearance, so for truly the first time, Sakura seems to be pretty much all on her own as no one else can (having no answers or skills that can help like Kero and Yue) or will (Eriol and Syaoran being all mysterious and holding back) seem to help her in this situation.

I was thinking,in japenese the names and words have great meaning, totally revealing details about personality and details about someone or something. Did you guys think that the girls names are only coincidence? Shinomoto and Kinomoto?
I miss Syaoran magic actions! But I am more curious about Touya’ role in all this. And why Kero is still hiding his existence? If Touya knows almost everthing because his relationship with Yukito/yue….

“Honestly, I’m still a little dumbstruck how Sakura managed to corral all those trees back into place without anyone noticing.”

This is why one can never take CCS too seriously. Everything is convenient and utopian and challenging just enough for Sakura because that’s the world Sakura likes to live in. If you want to take logic into consideration, you’d wonder how she never gets so much as a scratch during her fights.

I was thinking… Is it me, or the new cards design looks like “sometimg mechanical” or “steampunk victorian” stuff. I am stuck on the fact that the girls had almost the same surname: KInomoto (maybe “life) and SHInomoto (death or dead?)… But I guess this would be to dark to Cardcaptor’s world, maybe if we are talking about “X” OR EVEN “Tsubasa”. In this episode everybody talks about the girl are good together, or how they look a like… This make me think that Akiho isn’t a humam being, maybe she is a copy and perhaps we will see the story about Clow and Fei Wang Reed relationship….